Eleni 2004

Ronnie Scheib, Chicago Reader: We get a distractingly vapid couple who tend to drain the emotional resonance of these extraordinary, ever-shifting tableaux. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: Churns like classic tragedy while its pace is set by Angelopoulos' trademark, spooky portentousness. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: This is the first of an announced trilogy, but it already feels as long as the 20th century itself. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Angelopoulos has created a memorably sweeping survey, but even an epic needs some moments of genuine intimacy. Read more

Dana Stevens, New York Times: The first in a projected trilogy by the Greek director Theo Angelopoulos, The Weeping Meadow is a beautiful and devastating meditation on war, history and loss. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: The Weeping Meadow doesn't offer quite enough sugar for its harsh medicine to go down easily. Read more

Derek Elley, Variety: The movie plays like a career summation in which the 68-year-old writer-director has simply run out new ideas. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: It's Homeric filmmaking, uniquely worthy of the word. Read more